Over the past two+ years, I’ve recieved tons of amazing questions from readers. Most often they come through the Contact form, but sometimes people message me on social media, or just comment on a post here. Lots of younger guys are reaching out via Discord lately as well, which makes me happy. Questions about getting a master’s in Germany are quite common – it might be the most frequent topic I get questions about, actually. All of the questions I …

Disclaimer: Taxes for Expats approached me to offer their basic service package to handle filing my US taxes for the previous year. Nothing was expected in exchange, but I was given the opportunity to email interview their founder and president, Ines Zemelman, and share her insights into filing US taxes as an expat with my audience As we pass the two-week deadline for filing US taxes as an expat, I wanted to spread some great insight into the whole process …

Scholarships in Germany are something I really wish I knew more about before moving here. Really, not researching them thoroughly before hopping on that plane is something I really should have counted under the mistakes I made when I moved to Germany. There was a scholarship I could have applied for, that I probably had a good chance of getting, which would have gotten me an extra 300€ a month. That’s nothing to sneeze at – think of all the …

This post is Part 2 of my two-part miniseries on moving abroad and reflecting on our motivations and purposes for doing so. If you haven’t already, check out Part 1 of the series here, before reading further. So, last week was kinda a downer. In Part 1, I focused on the hardships that come with moving abroad and challenged you to really think about your reasons. This post is a necessary follow-up to that one. Having read some other threads and …

This is a post that has sat in my “Drafts” folder for a long time. The idea has long been there, but I just haven’t taken the time to really flesh out what I want to say in response to the question, “Should I move abroad?”. It’s a big blob of gray area, and that can be intimidating. However, with the arrival of the New Year and ever more people wanting to move abroad, I wanted to write something more reflective, so …

Frustration, waiting, disagreements, and even arguments are all things I associate with traveling with family. On the other hand, so are all the inside jokes, laughter, shared experiences and love. Families have different dynamics, and my family has always been full of independent characters. We all have our own preferences and interests and need – as all families do – to work with each other to keep everyone content. Traveling with your family is no exception. Actually, I’d say that cooperation …

Even if you’re only paying 150€ to 300€ a semester to get a degree in Germany, you still need to make some money to pay for all that beer and Döner you’ll be buying. I suppose rent, groceries, health insurance, and maybe a haircut or two would also be necessary, but that’s up to you. Getting a student job in Germany is probably one of the simplest ways to pay for such luxuries. These jobs are generally easier to find …

In my previous post, I ended the list of the cons of moving to Munich by mentioning a kind of overarching idea. That was the idea that when you move abroad, you kind of hit the reset button on your ability to function in society. A lot of things can affect how hard this reset is, like the language barrier, your social network in your new home, and just how “different” it is to where you moved from. I like …

You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seriously asked myself if moving to Munich was actually a good idea. A couple weeks ago, mindlessly scrolling through reddit, I came across a post on /r/IWantOut about everyone’s personal pros and cons of “getting out”. I stopped scrolling. I thought to myself, “Shit, have I ever even thought about that?”. Maybe I’ve been simply too busy for a retrospective look back at that decision. Maybe I’ve just assumed it was a good …

Below is a guest post from Alex Johnson of Inspire a Better Life. A short bio of Alex is at the end of the post. Alex and I actually teamed up for a guest post exchange. He wrote the post below, 48 Hours in Sydney, for my site, and I wrote a similar post, 48 Hours in Munich, for his! Sydney is a wonderful location to begin your Australian trip. As the biggest city in the nation, and commonly known as among …

Munich’s most famous attraction and the world’s largest folk festival begins this weekend! If you’re planning on visiting Oktoberfest this year, in this post I’ll answer some more common questions I’ve seen floating around the internet. This one comes from a question posted to Like a Local – a great website for, you guessed it, learning how to travel like a local from locals in cities around the world. The user asked 4 separate questions in one post, so I’ll tackle …

Bloggers are a funny bunch. We read a lot, write a ton, scour the web for new content to consume, and even give ourselves awards for this stuff. That’s what the “Liebster Award” is – a recognition of bloggers by other bloggers. It’s only coincidental that the name is derived from the German word that means “beloved, or dear” in English. It’s been around in some form or another since 2011, so I think there is at least some credence …

You know how everyone in the US always talks about “universal healthcare” and “single payer” over in “Europe”? Well, I’m over here in “Europe” – which I’ve put in quotes because there are just as many ways of structuring the healthcare market over here as there are countries. So before we get started on student health insurance in Germany, let’s all take a minute (or seven) to learn about Germany’s health insurance market. Good, now we’re all a bit more …

If you spend any time around the web looking for answers or asking questions about moving abroad, you’ve probably come across the same response numerous times. People always seem to mention or respond with, “Do you speak the language?”. This is definitely common for Germany as well, even though such a high portion of the country speaks English. There’s still a good reason why people mention having German language skills. In order to have a comfortable and fulfilling life in …

As I approach my 2nd anniversary of living in Munich in September, I’ve started to think more about how I’ve settled into my life here in Munich. More on that in my post about The Settlement Curve. A huge part of living abroad is adjusting to the new culture, circumstance, and life you find yourself in. One weekend afternoon while riding along the Isar on my bike, I realized something. I feel at home in Munich, and a big part …

July 4th has just passed, so about a week or so ago I asked my girlfriend “How are we celebrating the 4th of July?”. Much to my chagrin, my American bubble was busted when all I got in return was “Uhhh, why?”. Turns out, it’s not as common as I thought for non-Americans to know, much less to understand, what celebrating the 4th of July is about. My first experience celebrating the 4th of July abroad was back in 2015. …

In light of President Trump beginning the process of pulling the US out of the Paris Climate Accords, we all need to shift our focus away from the national to our own personal contributions to climate change. Since moving to Germany, I’ve picked up a few environmentally-conscious and typically-German habits that have taught me how to live more sustainably. I wanted to share the ways my lifestyle has changed that I think should become more common everywhere. Learning How to …

Living abroad can play with your emotions. For a time you’ll feel excited, meeting new people and exploring your new home. But after a while, some expats become overcome with homesickness and question why they moved so far away from what they knew. This is what’s known (in New Zealand at least) as the settlement curve. I first heard about “the settlement curve” from an episode of the Expat Sandwich that features Mickey Smith, an American artist living in New Zealand. First …